The present disclosure is related to recycling of waste food product, and more specifically to processes and systems for converting primary food product waste into secondary food product such as animal feed.
Foods produced for human consumption are referred to herein as primary food products. Many facilities such as restaurants, cafeterias at businesses and schools, food production and processing plants, and the like collect and dispose of unused and unconsumed primary food product. Examples include table scraps, unconsumed foods, trimmings from food preparation, blemished foods, etc. This unused and unconsumed primary food product is referred to herein as waste. A waste processing service is often paid to haul this waste and dispose of it, such as in a landfill.
Some efforts have been made to recycle and reuse portions of primary food product waste. Methods and systems are known for extraction of metals and plastics from food waste product that can be recycled and reused. Methods and systems are known for producing compost and fuel from the organic constituents of food waste. And most germane to the present disclosure, methods and systems are known for producing animal feed from primary food product waste. This material produced for feed use is referred to herein as secondary food product.
It is well recognized that production of animal feed from primary food product waste must be an economical and scalable process for there to be a justifiable investment in production equipment and infrastructure. There are also known technical requirements for the systems and processes for converting the primary food product waste into secondary food product. The relative difficulty and cost of addressing these requirements is in part a function of the type and diversity of primary food products from which the waste is derived, and in part a function of the type, state, and intended consumer of the target secondary food product. These requirements include production of a sufficiently dry material that decomposition and spoilage is addressed, while not so dry that important nutrients are lost. Non-food and potentially dangerous materials must be reliably removed from the primary food product waste so as not to render the secondary food product safe for consumption. Product must be produced under established standards of cleanliness and care both for the benefit of the animals consuming the secondary food product, whether domestic pets or commercial stock, and for the benefit of neighbors of the production facility, addressing issues such as odor, noise, flies and other vectors, and so on.
In additional to the practical and economic requirements for production of secondary food product from primary food product waste, four federal agencies are responsible for regulating secondary food production when used as feed and pet food: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Each agency promulgates regulations governing the collection, storing, and handling of food waste, and production and transportation of secondary food product.
To date, however, known systems and processes for producing secondary food product from primary food product waste have fallen short of effectively and efficiently addressing all needs. In certain examples, the cost of production, whether attributed to hauling, processing, or delivering feeds exceeds the return from using or producing the secondary food product. In other examples, the systems or processes the technical requirements have proved insurmountable. And in other examples, regulatory requirements cannot be met. Accordingly, there is a need in the art of an efficient and effective system and process for producing secondary food product from primary food product waste that addresses the shortfalls identified above, and others.